


Something Fishy in the Great White North

by gracicah, storyspinner70



Category: due South
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Podfic, Podfic Length: 20-30 Minutes, Pre-Slash, Undercover As Gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:34:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25542937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gracicah/pseuds/gracicah, https://archiveofourown.org/users/storyspinner70/pseuds/storyspinner70
Summary: It's just a simple thing, really. All Benton Fraser and Renfield Turnbull have to do is pretend to be gay and in love so they can solve an important case in Montreal. Ray's going to watch Dief and they have their fake identities and their suitcases all ready to go.Sometimes though, what you thought was most important turns out to be the last thing on your mind.
Relationships: Benton Fraser/Ray Vecchio
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7
Collections: Pod_Together 2020





	Something Fishy in the Great White North

A/N: The raid on gay bars in Canada was a very real issue, and continued for several decades, even after litigation and laws were passed to stop discrimination. The raid on the Katacombes in 1994 specifically was a real thing. Fraser had already proven his ability to uncover police corruption, so naturally he would do everything he could to help. 

Links to download:

[Google Drive](https://drive.google.com/file/d/14KMs3bh66iohCu0KUSyyHeyYatJptb19/view?usp=sharing) * [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/sfitgwn-storyspinner-70-with-music) * [Paraka](http://pod-together.parakaproductions.com/2020/SFITGWN%20storyspinner70%20WITH%20MUSIC.mp3)

  


Something Fishy in the Great White North

“I’m aware that my being gone for two weeks is very inconvenient for you, but there’s nothing I can do about it,” Benton said.

Diefenbaker huffed and gave an aborted whine.

“We went over this last night. There are nefarious things afoot in Quebec and they need someone with my skill for uncovering the truth.”

Diefenbaker stared at his caretaker.

“I told you that the term stool pigeon wasn’t necessarily a bad thing before we came down here, but you didn’t listen to me.”

Diefenbaker huffed through his nose.

“I know you want to come, but you and Ray will have a good time. It’s only two weeks. He’ll be home every night right after work to feed you. I know you hate his car, Dief, but it’s the only way he has to get around. Plus, he seems to love it. Constable Turnbull and I…”

Diefenbaker began to growl.

“Dief! I don’t know why you dislike him so much.”

Diefenbaker stared more and woofed under his breath.

“Well, yes, he is a little annoying, but he’s very good at his… He’s quite sufficient at… He’s very punctual. You’ve locked him in the storage room twice now. There’s really no need for that. The Consulate had to invest in a new lock just so he could open the door from the inside.”

Diefenbaker turned his back to Benton, but Fraser just walked around to face him. “You’re going to be fine. Stop sulking.”

Diefenbaker turned again and again, snorting as Benton followed him in a circle without realizing it.

“You know, I don’t know why I try to talk to you when you’re in a mood like this. I try my best, you know. I only started talking to you on that ice floe out of sheer boredom, anyway.”

Diefenbaker snuffled a little in contempt.

“I have a job to do and you can’t come this time. Ray will care for you and I’ll be back before you know it - triumphant.” Benton examined his hat carefully, brushing the brim free from invisible lint before putting it on. “I’m going to the Consulate. I’ll be back early tonight.”

**

Ray wasn’t happy. _At all._ Fraser was a little old school, but he was pretty good at his job and, no matter what Ray said out loud, had helped him more times than not. But he was also a pain. A pain with a wolf. A wolf that didn’t seem to like Ray all that much. A wolf that didn’t seem to like Ray all that much _and_ was staying with him for two weeks. 

It’s not like Ray was going to miss Fraser or anything. It was just inconvenient, that’s all.

“Vecchio! Where’s your taller, more attractive, more Canadian shadow?”

“Where’s your hair, Johnson?”

“Wherever yours is?”

Ray grumbled and went to his desk. He tried to focus, but found himself leaving the station and heading to the Consulate before he really realized what he was doing.

Fraser was on guard duty. Vecchio smiled. He kind of loved trying to make Fraser break while he was stationed in front of the Consulate. Fraser had never broken, but he’d get him.

He parked down the street and smiled at a pretty woman he ran into on his way back to the Consulate. He glanced back at her as she walked past him mostly on instinct, his mind on what he could do to get Fraser to break his legendarily strict work ethic when he was on guard duty.

He pulled up short when he rounded the corner to the government building. _Turnbull_ , he thought. He was chattering away to Fraser even though he clearly knew Fraser would not respond.

He thought he saw Fraser give the smallest of twitches. That was new. Ray had tried any number of things and Fraser never so much as blinked more rapidly. What was going on that had hit a nerve?

Was Turnbull getting on Fraser’s nerves that much? No, Fraser would never lower himself to react to Turnbull’s normal nonsense when he was on the job. So what had Turnbull said?

Ray discreetly moved closer.

“...we kiss in public or just hold hands? What about in the bar? It’ll be my first time in a gay bar. I’ve done some research on how I’m supposed to act. I think I have it down.”

 _Kissing in public? Gay bar?_ What was going on?

“Believe it or not,” Turnbull continued, “I’ve never been to Montreal. This will be a historic note in my personal growth journal. A trip to Quebec for two weeks, visiting gay bars, kissing you - and in front of other people no less!”

Turnbull was going to be kissing Fraser in front of other people? In Quebec. For two weeks. The two weeks that Fraser had told him was for “taking time to catch up with old acquaintances”.

Since when was Fraser gay? And for Turnbull?! Fraser could barely tolerate Turnbull on a good day, no way that he would actually date him. Right? _If_ Fraser were gay, there were plenty of guys that would be happy to have him for a lover. Fraser was attractive, if you liked your men tall and dark with the kind of rugged outdoorsmany sort of…

Ray stopped that train of thought. Fraser could do better is all he was saying.

“...learning to speak some French, too,” Turnbull was saying. “I’m pretty good, I must say, but it never hurts to brush up.” Turnbull was still talking, but Ray tuned him out.

He couldn’t believe Fraser was gay for Turnbull. And hadn’t bothered to tell Ray at all. He’d thought they were getting along pretty well. Weren’t they? He had been starting to think of Fraser as a friend. And Fraser had... Well, he thought Fraser had felt the same way.

Maybe it was just him. _No_ , he thought. _Fraser didn’t trust Diefenbaker to just anyone._ Clearly, Fraser trusted him. _Then why didn’t I know he was gay?_

Ray had seen Fraser around women. They’d make any excuse to rub up against him or touch him. If Fraser even noticed, he’d smile this shy, bemused smile that just served to make the women want him more then go on about his business like nothing had happened.

Ray had just assumed it was his Canadian Single MindednessTM as Ray had dubbed it, but maybe it was just that he wasn’t interested because they were female. Ray found himself running every interaction Fraser had had with women, including Ray’s own sister, through his mind.

Why didn’t Fraser tell him? And why in God’s name had he ever picked Turnbull? In the time Ray had known him, Fraser had never kept a thought to himself even when he should, but he was able to all of a sudden keep an entire lover to himself?

Something wasn’t right, and as Ray listened to Turnbull babble on about staying somewhere called simply “The M”, Ray made up his mind he was going to find out what.

**

Getting the same two weeks off as Fraser was difficult. His chief wasn’t happy about it or with Ray being deliberately secretive as to why he needed the time, but he finally agreed to give him a week. It would have to do.

Ray tracked down the hotel - the M Montreal to be precise. When the woman answered “M Montreal, Gay Village”, Ray realized his hands were shaking. By the end of the day, he’d recruited his sister to watch Diefenbaker, found his passport, and booked a room and a flight.

He was no closer to understanding why he was doing any of it.

**

“We’ll go to a different bar every night,” Fraser said. “I’m going to the Service de Police and give them false credentials. I’m going to tell them I’d like to see how things are done differently in Montreal. See if I can get them to let me spend some time there.”

“What’s my job?” Turnbull asked.

“Just… go shopping or something. Maybe you’ll see or overhear something helpful.”

“You can count on me,” Turnbull said.

“I’m sure I can.”

**

Ray’s head was splitting. Or maybe it was just all the pounding music he’d been listening to the last couple nights. He couldn’t tell. It had been three days of trying to discreetly trail Fraser and Turnbull and Ray was not having a good time.

The Gay Village in Montreal wasn’t really what he expected. He’d figured there would be more glitter and sparkle, for one thing. Buildings painted in bright colors maybe. Rainbow colors all over the place, at least.

Rainbow flags and the occasional awning here or there was about all Ray could see marking the Village as a haven for all things queer. If he were honest about it, he was kind of disappointed.

Ray had been following Turnbull for a couple of hours, and the vision of him and Fraser dancing and kissing was becoming harder and harder to get out of Ray’s mind. He tuned back in just in time to hear Turnbull enthusiastically ask a group of ladies who were just trying to shop for some shoes if they’d “experienced any police brutality lately”.

Ray shook his head. Something was very suspicious. He needed to get to the bottom of this - and fast. He was running out of time.

**

Benton Fraser was a patient man. He’d once spent three days in the wintry landscape, laying low and surviving on jerky and melted snow to catch a pair of poachers. His endurance and skill was legendary throughout the Northwest Territories.

When he was in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Fraser had learned two things - the big city was not the place for him and that he had a true friend in one Thomas William Nathan.

Thomas had moved to Quebec not long after Fraser headed back to the relative quiet and peace of the Territories. Even though Canada had adopted a much more open stance on homosexuality, there were still pockets of dissension, and when Thomas joined the SPVM, he found himself right in the middle of one.

The Montreal police force was among the largest in all of Canada. If there was anywhere for corruption to hide, a force this size would be the place for it.

Thomas began to notice low voiced conversations and plans he, as the new person, was left out of. Murmurs would quiet whenever he or higher ranking officers were around, but their often pointed nods made Thomas somewhat suspicious. Fraser had taught him a lot about what people could tell you without saying a word.

When his section chief came to him with his suspicions, Thomas knew just who to call. They’d created a set of fake papers and some background for Fraser and he was there in a matter of weeks.

Jackson Thackery and his lover Alan Saint-Laurent were visiting their old friend and fellow constable for two weeks. Thomas had been very careful to introduce them to just about everyone before he let “Jackson” ask if it was okay for him to shadow Thomas for the time Jackson was in town. The reaction was immediate, but well hidden.

It had taken Fraser three days to uncover part of a plan to make sure that the gay community in Montreal was not getting too comfortable. Despite the moves toward equality that the country as a whole was taking, certain members of the SPVM seemingly did not approve.

They couldn’t raid a gay bar, but a brothel or bawdy house was open game. Fraser and his partner had been staking out a different club every night, and all they could do was hope something happened soon. Perhaps having an out and proud gay couple thrust in their faces would be just the impetus they needed. 

Fraser was only supposed to be visiting for two weeks, but he was prepared to stay for as long as it took.

**

There was someone in Montreal that looked just like his good friend Ray. Fraser had noticed him his first night in Quebec, but he hadn’t wanted to confront a stranger about his likeness to someone who lived in a completely different country.

He kept seeing him though. It was right after going to the Kox club, that he really started to wonder if he was seeing things. His father popped up behind him.

“Seeing this Ray fellow everywhere you go, hmm?”

“No, it’s not everywhere, and it’s obviously not Ray. He’s back in Chicago taking care of Dief.”

“Do you miss him?”

Benton deliberately misunderstood. “Dief can handle himself. Besides, I’ve only been away from Chicago for four days. I’m just… uncomfortable here, that’s all.”

“So it’s Dief you miss, is it? What are you going to do if it takes longer than two weeks to crack this case?”

“What’s with all the questions?” Benton asked impatiently.

“Questions open doors, Benton,” his father said. “They make things clear.”

Benton frowned and started to ask a few questions of his own but his father was already gone.

**

Benton had found himself in exactly the right place at the right time. It seemed to be a habit of his. He didn’t believe in luck, but opportunities always seemed to come his way and that was okay with him. 

He’d found himself witness to a seemingly innocuous meeting about traffic stops, but something wasn’t quite right about it. He knew they were talking about something going down tonight and he knew where. He just had to make sure he and Turnbull were in place when it did.

**

“Hey, Daddy. How about you buy me a drink, huh?”

Ray liked to play the macho ladies man, but if he were honest, all the attention he’d been getting at gay bars the last few days had been pretty flattering. Maybe even intriguing - in a completely hetero way, of course. He’d followed the happy couple to Katacombes tonight, and he’d gotten propositioned a few times already.

He couldn’t say he was upset about it.

He’d been there for a couple hours so far, his body moving to the music he’d grown used to since he’d been in Montreal. He kept his eye on Benson and his “lover” the entire time, but nothing seemed untoward. They would have a drink then dance for a while. Same routine as it had been in each club they’d gone to so far.

They didn’t look wrong together necessarily, Turnbull fair and slighter to Benson’s darker, taller frame. They just didn’t fit. Benton didn’t need someone like Turnbull. He needed someone who could match him in wit and skill. Someone who would balance his naivete and reserve. He needed…

“ALRIGHT PEOPLE THIS IS A RAID!”

The pulsing lights of the club were replaced with blinding light and confusion. People were screaming as they scattered, fear and resignation in equal measure lining their face.

Ray tried to explain he was a police officer, but ended up smashed against a wall with his arm twisted high against his back anyway. The constable holding him drove his elbow into his back to keep him still while he grabbed his cuffs, even though Ray wasn’t struggling in the slightest.

He heard them. The names. Three letters. Six letters. Five letters. Words that drove like daggers through the shouting and the still blaring music to lodge somewhere deep in his chest.

He heard someone crying nearby and the thudding sound of flesh hitting flesh. All around him was hatred and fear and chaos.

Ray saw him when he was pulled away from the wall. Fraser was staring at him, his eyes intense and his face stony and still. Ray stared back until he was jerked away toward the door.

**

“What are you doing here, Ray?”

“Oh, you know, I got a few vacation days and I figured what the hell. Let’s see what that country you’re always gabbing about is really like, huh?”

“Ray…”

“I knew something wasn’t right, you know. I could feel it.”

“Something not right like a case?”

Ray paused for a moment. He could go any way with that he wanted. Fraser wouldn’t think another thing about it if he said yes, it was definitely a case. But…

But maybe it was time he told the truth about things. He’d seen Fraser take care of and shelter people in the club as Ray was dragged out. Ray heard how passionately he’d told his story and showed his evidence about why and how the raid was carried out. He’d seen Fraser’s triumph when they’d been let out of jail and the Police Chief resigned. He’d seen Fraser’s face when he’d seen Ray in the lobby of the very hotel where he’d been staying.

Maybe it was time.

“Something not right with you,” Ray said quietly. “I heard Turnbull at the Consulate talking about kissing you in public and dancing with you. I didn’t know it was for the investigation.”

Fraser didn’t respond.

“He isn’t what you need.”

“No. No, he isn’t,” Fraser said, laser focused on Ray’s face.

“You need someone different,” Ray continued, his voice louder now and more strident. “You need… Well, just someone different.”

“I do,” Fraser agreed.

“You never asked me about your wolf.”

“I trust you,” Fraser said simply.

Ray didn’t know what else to say, so he stayed quiet, the low hum of something on TV trickling through the silence.

“When does your flight leave?” Fraser asked.

“At five. Yours?”

“At six. We can go to the airport together.”

“Yeah,” Ray said. “I’d like that.”

Things settled after that, the air no longer pressing tight against Ray’s chest. He slumped against the headboard and flipped idly through the channels, smiling quickly when Fraser scooted up beside him.

“Why is there never anything on TV?” He complained, dropping the remote on the bed between their hands. “I swear, there’s a hundred channels and there’s never anything on.”

Fraser shifted a little more to his side so he could see Ray. “You rely on that thing too much for your entertainment,” he said.

Ray rolled his eyes at the all too familiar argument.

“You need to get out into the world and experience life, not watch it on a little square screen.”

“I know, I know. The great outdoors, fresh air, sunshine, blah blah blah.”

“You need to make your own stories, not watch other people’s,” Fraser pressed on. “Take me, for example. I have many fascinating stories about living and surviving…”

Ray let him drone on, his attention caught by the shine in his eye and the press of his mouth as he tried his best to convince Ray to change his unhealthy, sedentary life. He tuned back in when Fraser dropped his face a little so he could stare right into Ray’s eyes.

“For instance, did I ever tell you about Innusiq? He was a skillful caribou hunter I met when I was just eleven years old…”

Had he told Ray about Innusiq? Yes. Yes, he had. Was Ray going to stop him from telling him again?

Not a chance.

**Author's Note:**

> Sound credits:  
> Due South score (Jay Semko, Jack Lenz, John K. McCarthy)  
> Sapho et Sophie (Alain Chamfort, 1990)  
> Chercher le garçon (Taxi Girl, 1980)  
> Your Loving Arms (Billie Ray Martin, 1994)  
> Un homme ou une femme (Axelle Red, 1993)  
> Big Switch Sound Effect (All Sounds)  
> Riot Background Ambience with Large Crowd Shouting in Extreme Anger (The Hollywood Edge Sound Effects Library)  
> Video: "Montreal's Sex Garage raid" (YouTube user SexGarage1990)


End file.
